Naruto 1. Prologue

**All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto :D**  
Prologue

* * *

Light spilled across the land in a steady stream of glowing orange, spreading across the land quickly, flooding the land and filling up even the darkest crevices. The tall spires and glass window panes caught and reflected the light, creating blinding flashes now and then as the sun continued to climb up the sky.

Early as it was, people were already milling around the busy city of Konoha, most in business suits, hurrying to work armed with black, professional briefcases. They all hurried along minding their own business, never regarding each other, other than an occasional nod or a muttered "sorry" or "excuse me". So engrossed they were in getting themselves to work on time, that they all failed to notice a small bundle of red and yellow, curled up in a dark street corner the sunlight seemed to have missed. All except one.

Business executive Uchiha Fugaku, head of the leading law firms Uchiha and Hyuuga, was a busy man. Sitting across of him in his sleek black limousine was his youngest son, Sasuke. The five year old raven haired boy was currently staring out of the tinted windows, wondering why nobody waved back when he waved at them.

"Aniki! Why are they ignoring me?" Sasuke whined, crawling into the lap of his older brother, Itachi. "Shhh," Itachi shushed him. "If you continue being so noisy, otosama won't bring you along anymore."

Sasuke's eyes widened, and obligingly put a finger over his lips, turning back to stare out the window. As the limo came to a stop at a traffic light, something caught the eye of the youngest Uchiha.

"Otosama! Aniki! There's someone over there!" Sasuke said, jumping up and down on the seat. Itachi frowned.

"Didn't I tell you to be quiet? Don't disturb otosama."

"I'm serious! There's someone lying over there!" Sasuke insisted obstinately, pointing with a chubby finger. "See?" he asked, pulling Itachi over. Itachi sighed, and obligingly took a quick glance to pacify his brother.

To his surprise, he saw a young blonde boy, dressed in a shabby red jacket, curled up in the corner of 1st street.

Itachi turned to his father. "Otosama, there's a boy – "

"Don't bother," his father interrupted. "We can't go around saving all the beggars in Konoha."

"– I don't think he's any older than Sasuke, otosama." Itachi continued, looking at his father, as the man frowned and glanced at his watch.

"I'll be late for the board meeting…"

"Please, otosama?" Sasuke asked, looking at his father pleadingly. "He looks lonely, like how I feel when Aniki doesn't have time to play with me."

Fugaku caved in, unable to refuse his youngest son's request.

"Itachi, could you take Sasuke –"

"Sure," Itachi said, opening the door and carrying an excited Sasuke out, crossing the road quickly before the lights changed. He walked briskly over to where the young boy lay, Sasuke in tow. The blonde's eyes were shut in what he hoped was sleep. He knelt down, and checked for a pulse, sighing in relief when he found a strong steady one. The boy stirred, and his eyes opened sleepily, revealing two shockingly brilliant blue eyes.

Blinking sleepily, his fuzzy vision came into focus on a pale face framed with long dark hair, bending over him concernedly.

"Mmm… who're you?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he tried to sit up. Opening them again, he saw another face behind the first one, who looked exactly like the mini version of the big one, with shorter hair.

The smaller one was saying something, but he was really really tired, and couldn't hear anything. His vision began to swim, and he felt blood rush to his head, tinting his vision in a reddish hue before the world suddenly became dark.

Sasuke gasped as the boy's eyes rolled back and collapsed on the pavement.

"Aniki! Aniki! What happened?! He's not dead, is he?!"

Itachi frowned. "No; he fainted. And we're bringing him home now. Come along," he said, as he picked up the small boy. He was actually even smaller than Sasuke. Itachi frowned deeper when he wondered why such a small child was left to fend for himself.

He flagged down a taxi back home, and in a matter of minutes, the taxi pulled up outside the Uchiha estate with the help of a fifty dollar bribe to break the speed limit. He quickly carried the boy into one of the guest rooms in the east wing, settling him down into the bed before calling for the family doctor. He didn't know how long the boy had been out there, and did not want to take chances.

Sasuke peered round the doorway, staring at the soon-to-be newest occupant of the Uchiha household. Itachi saw him, and beckoned for him to enter.

"Stay with him until the doctor comes, alright?" he said, standing up. "I have to get back to work."

Sasuke nodded solemnly, and sat by the blonde boy's side as instructed as the tires of his older brother's own car squealed and left the estate.

While waiting for the doctor, Sasuke took the opportunity to really look at the blonde. His hair stuck out all over his head in a messy heap of blonde spikes, but yet seemed to fit his tanned face. He noticed that on each of his cheeks, there were three faint lines that looked rather much like whiskers. Reaching out a hand cautiously, he traced the whisker-like markings with the tip of his index finger, jerking back quickly when the blond twitched slightly.

Then, Sasuke heard one of the help open the door, and a tall woman in a traditional white doctor's coat entered the room.

"Thank you," she said, dismissing the maid, before turning to Sasuke. "Hello, Sasuke. I hear you got a new friend," she asked, smiling.

"Shizune!" Sasuke beamed. "Can you make him better?" he frowned. "He's been sleeping a lot."

"I'm sure there isn't anything wrong with him, but I still have to do a check up. You go outside and play for a moment, then I'll call you back in, okay?"

Sasuke frowned and was about to protest, but Shizune gave him a stern look.

"Now, you want the best for your friend, don't you?"

"Yes…" Sasuke frowned. "Okay."

"Don't worry," Shizune laughed as Sasuke sulked out. "I won't be long, really."

True to her word, Sasuke was called back into the room after only about 10 minutes. He ran ahead of the maid who'd been sent to call him, and eagerly flung open the door. The first thing he saw was the boy, sitting upright in the bed, leaning on the headboard, propped up by pillows.

Excited yet curious, Sasuke approached the boy enthusiastically.

"You're awake!"

The blonde stared at him for a moment, head titled to a side before he broke into a dazzling sunny grin. "Hello, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Who're you?"

Sasuke grinned. "Uchiha Sasuke," he replied, extending a hand.

Naruto stared at the cool, pale, outstretched hand, and looked up at Sasuke quizzically.

"You don't know what's a handshake?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shook his head slowly.

"Here," Sasuke said. "You stretch out your hand too, and hold mine," he said, taking Naruto's hand. "Then, you shake it slowly up and down," he continued, demonstrating.

"Whaddyou do this for?" Naruto asked, still confused.

"I dunno…" Sasuke said, letting go of Naruto's hand. "I never thought of that before. I guess it's to show that we're friends now!"

Naruto grinned again. "Friends!" It sounded nice. Friends. Nice ring to it, too.

And it was as such, that led to the coincidental meeting of Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke, and how the former came to live in the Uchiha estate.

It all seemed like a fairytale, perfectly story-like was the manner in which Naruto had entered the lives of the Uchihas. But then again, since when was life sweet and charmed all over?

No more than a year later, Sasuke's parents were murdered in cold blood in the dead of the night. It was a great shock to the six year old, and he was never the same again. Who could be, after finding out that the killer was someone none other than someone he trusted, someone who had been close to him; his own brother?

He became cold, and uncaring, the warm smiles and laughter that he used to share with his best friend, Naruto, was now replaced by a cool, aloof mask, to hide the blood-thirsty want for revenge underneath, never really suppressed nor dormant.

Their fairytale life had shattered before their eyes, and there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

**A.N. So... how's it? College has been hard on me, so I couldn't write more often. I decided to write more Naruto fics, and well, here's one I thought up on a whim! Haha :D  
I've got an idea too, anyways. I think I won't waste time writing things that are boring, or not appealing or anything, so share in a review what you think, and I'll see if I should continue this one, or set about writing a new one, kay? :D**


	2. Birthday Surprise

**A.N. All characters belong to Kishimoto.**

Chapter One

It was a typical day in the Uchiha estate. Even before the old grandfather clock on the landing had time to chime for six o'clock, the help were already up and about, bustling around, quietly preparing for another day. As scheduled, one of the maids would ring the morning bell, signaling the start of the day at six-thirty.

Usually, Naruto would just ignore the bell and continue sleeping till the last minute, but that day, he was up especially early. Taking care to be as quiet as possible, he snuck into the bathroom and took a quick, silent shower, before scurrying back to his room.

That day was a special day; it was the 23rd of July. He knew that the last time Sasuke really celebrated his own birthday was on his sixth birthday, but he always tried every year to get him to at least crack a smile anyways. He headed over to the elegantly wrapped present on his desk, a smallish, flat package slightly larger than a piece of A5 paper, nicely wrapped up in a cheery orange crepe paper with a large, curling red bow.

He smiled in satisfaction as he looked it over, checking it for any faults and finding none. He slipped the present in the pocket of his baggy orange cargo pants, and hurried downstairs to the kitchen, hoping that Sasuke wasn't there yet.

Skidding down the hall, not caring about the scuffle marks he left in the carpet that he was sure to be reprimanded for, Naruto burst into the kitchen in a flurry of orange and yellow, grinning widely from ear to ear. The help, all used to the hyperactive teen, just smiled and chimed in perfect harmony, "Good morning, Master Uzumaki,".

Naruto smiled, used to the formalities in the Uchiha household. "Morning!" Then, in a more hushed, conspiratorial undertone, he added, "Are the preparations done?"

The smartly uniformed maids nodded their heads vigorously. Naruto grinned, and gave them a double thumbs-up, before skipping out of the kitchen, rushing up to his best friend's room. Naruto hammered on the mahogany door loudly before making a loud entry, slamming the door open, knowing that it would irritate the youngest Uchiha.

True to Naruto's prediction, Sasuke looked from his table, a small frown marring his otherwise expressionless face. Naruto sauntered over to Sasuke, acknowledging Sasuke's annoyance with a foxy grin.

"Now, now, it will not do to get annoyed on your birthday, Sasu-chan!" Naruto cooed.

"…Hn. Whatever," Sasuke replied as coldly as he could.

"You can't fool me, bastard! Come on, I've got something prepared for you this year! Something REALLY SPECIAL!"

"Oh really?" Sasuke said in a slight mocking tone. "Isn't that what you say every year?"

Naruto pouted. "This year's REALLY different! Just come down to the living room, datebayo!"

Sasuke sighed insufferably. "Give me five mi-"

"YEAY!" Naruto glomped Sasuke, grinning widely. "You will not regret this, EVER!" he cried happily, before skipping out of the room.

Sasuke twitched. That was also exactly what Naruto had said the year before; and let's just say it didn't turn out well, with the incurred damage costs amounting to more than what Sasuke earned in a month. Which, was a lot, to put it simply.

After much trepidation, Sasuke walked to the living room as instructed. He reached for the doorknob, pausing slightly in unease, before shaking his head and quickly opening the in one swift motion with much admirable bravery and courage.

As soon as he stepped in the room, four confetti canons by the door went off simultaneously, effectively covering Sasuke with a generous amount of colourful streamers and shiny papers.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Sasuke recoiled in terror at the sight of the well-wishers who'd all just jumped out from behind the sofa. Apart from Naruto, there were Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, Shino, Lee, Tenten, Sakura, Ino and Hinata all standing in the centre of his living room, grinning widely. Well, at least with the exception of Shikamaru, who looked as if he was about to fall asleep on his feet, Hinata, who was blushing and twiddling her fingers, and Neji, who looked as if he was forced to be there.

"Naruto," Sasuke growled. "What are they doing in my house?!"

Naruto frowned. "It's as much my house as it's yours! And plus, we're here to celebrate your birthday! Be happy about it!"

"I want them all out in five seconds," Sasuke said menacingly. "Five. Four. Thr–"

Naruto leapt across the room and smothered Sasuke in a crushing bear-hug. "Aw, don't be so pissy on your birthday!"

"Yeah, man, chill!" Kiba laughed. "Plus, no one can take that death glare of yours seriously when you've got PINK confetti in your hair!"

Naruto snickered, pulling Sasuke behind him as he rejoined the rest of the group.

"Hey, present time! Here, teme, this one's for you!" Naruto said, handing Sasuke the package. Seeing this, everyone started handing their presents to the raven too.

"Happy 16th, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said as she handed him a pink package. "I hope yo–"

"HERE'S MINE, SASUKE-KUN!" Ino interrupted, shoving hers into Sasuke's hands.

"Hey, Ino-pig, I wasn't done there –"

The two girls started squabbling, and Sasuke sighed in annoyance.

"Sasuke, happy birthday!" Kiba said, passing him a paper bag. "Dude, loosen up yeah? Let that stick out your ass!"

"Thank you," Sasuke replied curtly, moving on to see who the next person was.

"Sas…sasuke-san, this is for you!" Hinata blushed, twiddling her fingers.

"Thank you…"

The rest all came up and gave him their presents and well wishes, Sasuke replying perfunctorily and monotonously, until the last person, Neji.

"Uchiha."

"Hyuuga."

Neji shoved the present at Sasuke, who accepted it stiffly.

Seeing their tense situation, Sakura cried, "Come on, let's have a nice group picture!" Pulling the rest around the table, she passed one of the maids a bright pink camera. "I get to stand next to Sasuke-kun!"

"Hell no, big forehead! Sasuke-kun wouldn't want the likes of you to be next to him! _I_ will be next to him!" Ino cried, pushing Sakura away, her long blonde ponytail swishing around, barely missing the cake.

"Sasuke-kun's MINE! Stay away from him, Ino-pig!" Sakura cried, tugging on Sasuke's left arm.

"No, he's MINE! Hands off, bitch!" Ino yelled back, tugging on Sasuke's right arm.

The boys sighed in exasperation, as the girls continued their bickering. Sasuke, trapped helplessly between the two vice-like grips, looked at Naruto pleadingly.

Naruto grinned as he turned to the rest of the group, sighing dramatically, "It's times like these when Sasuke realizes that he cannot do without me." The boys laughed as Naruto quickly separated the Uchiha from the girls, pushing them aside.

"Come on, if anyone gets to stand next to Sasuke, it'd be me! After all, I'm his best friend, and plus, I was the one who organized this party," Naruto grinned.

Sasuke sighed in relief inwardly as the girls moved away, grabbing Naruto's hand and pulling the blonde closer as inconspicuously as possible.

"You are helpless without me, aren't you, bastard?" Naruto grinned as he leaned down to whisper in Sasuke's ear.

The shorter raven shivered slightly as Naruto's breath tickled his pale skin, sending a tingling sensation throughout his body. Thankfully for Sasuke though, the awkward moment was abruptly cut short as Sakura squealed loudly.

"Sakura, my beautiful spring blossom, you can come stand with me! I shall fill you with my never ending youthful joy and –"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Shikamaru sighed. "So troublesome…" he muttered, before jumping slightly as someone touched his arm.

"I'll stand here then," Ino grumbled to herself. "If I can't get number one, I'll settle for second best," she continued as she smiled at Shikamaru and fastened herself onto his arm.

"So troublesome…" Shikamaru frowned.

Naruto laughed. "Come on already, are we going to take the picture or what?"

The teenagers laughed, and took their places quickly. With Sasuke in the middle, Naruto stood on his right, and Kiba on his left. Kiba'd grabbed Hinata at the last minute, pulling her beside him on his left. The other Hyuuga stood next to Naruto, glaring slightly at Sasuke when Naruto slung an arm around the Uchiha.

Behind them stood Tenten, Shino, Shikamaru and Ino, and Chouji. Finally seeing that they were ready, the maid smiled as she counted down.

"Ready? San, nii, ichi! *Kercheek*!" The camera flashed, and Naruto bounded over to look at the photo.

"Nice! When it's developed, send one to me, okay Sakura-chan?" he said winking at Sakura. "Then when you come over to pass it to me, maybe we could go catch–"

"In your dreams," Sakura replied exasperatedly as she punched Naruto's head and caught her camera expertly as it flew into the air when Naruto fell over.

"Aw man…" Naruto moaned as he clutched his head, making everybody laugh.

"Hey, we'd better be going off to school already, look at the time!" Tenten said.

"What about the cake?" Chouji complained. "We didn't even get to eat it yet!"

"And plus, Kakashi-sensei's always late anyway," Ino said.

"I don't care! We can have cake some other time. Let's _go_!" Tenten ordered.

The group grumbled all the way out of the house. "Hey, look on the bright side, guys!" Naruto grinned. "One of you gets to ride with me in my car, while the rest of you get to sit in Sasuke's limo!"

Immediately, a cacophony of squeals of "I want to sit in the Lamborghini!" and "Squeee! Arrive in school in the limo!!!" rose, and Sasuke rubbed his temples and glared at Naruto, who just shrugged and grinned at the raven.

"Okay, okay, settle down people," Naruto called over the hubbub. "Who wants to sit with me?"

All the boys' hands shot up. Naruto thought for a moment.

"Okay, I shall randomly select one of you, okay? Then the rest sit in the limo with Sasuke. Deal?"

There were no objections, and Naruto closed his eyes and spun around a few times before dizzyingly raising a finger to point at someone. Opening his eyes to see who he'd selected, he saw Neji smirking at Sasuke, who looked slightly peeved.

"Neji! Okay then, let's go!" Naruto said happily, as Neji slung an arm around the blond boy and turned his head to sneer at the Uchiha.

Sasuke growled as the rest all filed out into the garage. He and Neji never did get along very well. And his that darned Hyuuga was all over his Naruto! His Naruto!

Sasuke's angry internal ranting came to a sudden halt. Wait. Since when did he think of Naruto as his own? He dismissed the thought. He must've wanted to say his _best friend_ Naruto. Yes, that was it.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke snapped out of his reverie, to see Sakura looking at him concernedly. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah… let's go."

* * *

School passed in a blur for Sasuke.

The first half of the day was boring. Homeroom, Trig, Biology 2. Boring because Naruto wasn't taking those classes with him.

Then came lunch, where his day got slightly better, because that was when Naruto started having the same classes as him. Then, Physics and English, and the day would be over.

It was the same all the time, avoiding fangirls, getting to class on time, half-listening to the teacher; then, the cycle repeats as he leaves the room to get to his next class.

That day, however was different.

Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt.

Sasuke frowned as his phone started vibrating in his pocket. Nobody called him in the middle of class, unless…

Raising his hand and excusing himself to the toilet, Sasuke flipped open the wafer thin phone as soon as he was out of the class.

"Suigetsu. What are the new leads?"

"We found him."

Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Where?" he managed to choke out, trying and failing to mask the anxiousness and hope in his voice.

On the other end of the line, a teen with shockingly pale blond hair grinned, revealing two rows of sharp teeth.

"You won't believe it."

* * *

**A.N. How how how? :D Is it okay? o.o ha ha, reviews would be welcome!!! Ha ha ha, I love Hyuuga/Uchiha rivalry! :DDDD**


	3. I'm Baack!

A.N. All characters belong to the master, Kishimoto.  
Chapter 2

Naruto fidgeted in his chair as the lesson dragged on, tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for Sasuke to return from the washroom. It must be some huge business for him to be taking so long. Naruto sighed, and slumped in his chair. Kurenai raised an eyebrow at him.

"Is something the matter, Naruto?"

"No, nothing, sensei."

"Then I would appreciate if you would sit up and pay attention in my class."

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei." Naruto groaned. He absolutely hated Physics; even though Kurenai was considerably hot, he just couldn't pay attention in her class, especially when he was channeling most of his energies to worrying about a certain raven.

Sasuke eventually resumed his seat next to Naruto, looking visibly anxious and impatient. Naruto glanced at Sasuke worriedly, wondering why nobody else seemed to notice the change in the Uchiha's countenance.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered.

The raven turned his head towards Naruto stiffly, and the blonde could see that Sasuke's eyes were glazed over, irises tinged slightly red; and veins were standing out on his neck and temples as he clenched his fists under the table.

The only time he acted like that was when…

Oh lord.

Naruto could recognize the signs well enough; things did not bode well when Sasuke went high on his thirst for revenge.

"He's back…" Sasuke bit out in a harsh whisper.

Naruto smiled weakly. "We'll get through it. We always do. We can do it… just like we always have!"

Sasuke frowned deeper, his now scarlet eyes tainted with a touch of desperate worry. "No… this time it's different."

"How is it–"

"Naruto! Sasuke! Both of you, Naruto especially, I don't want to remind you to pay attention again! Kinematics is an essential topic!" Kurenai warned, interrupting the boys' hushed conversation.

"Hai, gomen nasai, sensei," Sasuke replied, forcing a smile. Naruto wasn't fooled, even though Kurenai was; he'd grown up with the raven. He knew almost everything there was to know about him, and he knew Sasuke rarely got so worried. He wondered what was wrong.

The remaining 43 minutes and 32 seconds was a drag for both boys. When the bell finally rang, both boys took off quickly, and left the school building in an unspoken consensus to skip English. They headed for the car park, and Naruto got into his Lamborghini, pushing Sasuke into the passenger seat.

"The limo…"

"We can ask someone to pick it up later," Naruto said. "For the time being, I don't trust you to stay alone and out of trouble."

Sasuke frowned, but let Naruto push him into the car. He hadn't been planning on heading straight over yet, anyway. He wanted to make a couple of stops, prepare a few things… before going to see his dear brother.

Naruto drove out of the school compound in a blur of tangerine, stepping hard on the accelerator as they entered the freeway, looking over at Sasuke worriedly every few seconds.

"What?" Sasuke asked irritably as Naruto looked over at him for the umpteenth time.

Naruto frowned. "I'm worried for you, datebayo!"

Sasuke's scowl softened slightly. "Don't waste your time, dobe, I'm fine."

"How can you be?!" Naruto cried. "Your brother, he…!" Naruto stopped in mid-sentence, remembering something all of a sudden. "Oh, what was it you were going to tell me in class?"

Sasuke frowned. "Suigetsu said that Itachi now… goes around with a dangerous group of people that Karin is tracking. They call themselves the Akatsuki, and are a well known dangerous-gang-to-be-reckoned-with in the criminal underworld."

Naruto shivered. "Why would he… do that?"

Sasuke shrugged. "He'd always been… unstable in the past. But the point is now he's more dangerous than ever. You never know what he might do next."

Naruto shuddered at the thought of Itachi and his new-found teammates breaking into the estate, killing the servants, killing innocent bystanders, killing, killing, killing… killing Sasuke, killing him. Killing Sasuke.

Somehow, the thought of Sasuke being killed… was scarier than the thought of dying.

His thoughts were interrupted by a cool hand on his. He looked up to see Sasuke's pale hand resting atop his own tanned one on the gear box.

"It'll be okay… like you said, dobe. Don't you believe in what you said yourself? And whatever happens, at least we'll get though it together." Sasuke smirked. "You can't get rid of me, however hard you try."

Naruto smiled at Sasuke. "Thanks, teme."

"Yeah," Sasuke replied gruffly, removing his hand jerkily, realizing the awkwardness of his situation, earning a laugh from Naruto. "Just… keep your eyes on the road."

"Like I never," Naruto replied with a smirk. "I have to keep my bastard safe, don't I?"

Sasuke blushed as he spluttered in indignation, only serving to make Naruto laugh all the more.

And hence, was the brief respite from the tension as the bright orange Lamborghini zoomed towards the Uchiha estate. Until.

"Uchiha-sama, Uzumaki-sama!" a flustered servant ran up to them as soon as the butler had taken their coats. Naruto looked at the girl with unease coiling in the pit of his stomach.

"Yes?"

"The east wing, it's destroyed!" she blubbered frantically.

Sasuke's head snapped up as he demanded, "What do you mean destroyed?!"

"It blew up, all of a sudden! None of us knew why, none of the alarms went off, it-it just exploded, the floor was shaking and, and, we were so frightened and, it wasn't too long ago either, about half an hour before you came home, it BLEW! There was smoke everywhere and…"

Sasuke took off in a run, Naruto close behind him, not letting the terrified maid finish. He skidded to a stop when he reached the end of a charred corridor that lead from the main building to the east wing.

The building ended there, abruptly. The ceiling stopped suddenly, blue sky replacing what should have been a pale ceiling with soft, beige floral designs. The walls had all collapsed outwards, furniture charred beyond repair. All four storeys had apparently collapsed on top of each other, creating a gigantic mound of wreckage that still emanated smoke faintly, the soot particles curling upwards in lazy spirals. It was nothing short of a miracle that the main building and the west wing weren't affected at all, seeing the state of disrepair the east wing was.

"It's Itachi's doing."

Naruto looked at Sasuke, who was clenching and unclenching his fists angrily in an effort to calm himself down, serpentine veins standing out on his arms and neck, looking more crazed than he'd been in the classroom before.

"Sasuke, calm down –"

"I CAN_NOT _CALM DOWN!" The raven roared as he shrugged the blond's arm off his shoulder roughly. "How do you expect me to calm down? Don't you see? He's giving us a message. He made sure not to kill any of us, even when he could. Can't you see what he's trying to say?"

_We are at his mercy._

Those unspoken words hung thickly in the air between the boys. Naruto opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it again as he tore his gaze away from Sasuke's onyx eyes, those fury-filled eyes that had obtained their reddish tint again.

Sasuke too looked away to the ground, panting angrily.

"I… I'm sorry. For… barking at you like that. This isn't your fault…" Sasuke muttered after a pregnant silence.

Naruto caught the raven up in a sudden embrace. "It's fine. Don't worry. It'll be okay, I promise."

Sasuke laughed mirthlessly. "You can't promise that."

"I just did," Naruto replied determinedly as he pulled away and walked back towards the main building, leaving Sasuke to stare at the debris. "Just watch me; I don't make empty promises," he said, as he turned to face Sasuke when he reached the end of the corridor, cerulean eyes shining with determination.

Watching silently from his vantage point in an adjacent block of flats, Itachi smirked.

"They are so cute, neh?" a man with an orange swirly mask said. "Itachi-san, your brother looks just like you!"

"Shut up, swirl-face, yeah!" Deidara growled. "You're distracting Itachi, un!"

Itachi turned to his right, ignoring the fight that was breaking out between the blond and Tobi. "Kisame… get it ready."

"The arsenal?" the tall shark-like man replied, grinning. "I like the arsenal."

"Yes," Itachi smirked, a crazed look in his bloodshot eyes. "The arsenal. My dear little brother, I will be looking forward to meeting you! Then you'll see, yes, you'll see, you'll understand the pain of seeing someone you love die before your eyes, feeling powerless to save her." He sniggered evilly, his eerie laughter echoing around the room into the blood-red setting sun.

* * *

**A.N. Argh, sorry that it's late, and short! But, I've been really REALLY busy, believe me. School does that to you D: But you'll still show your support by leaving a review, right? :D Strawberry oreos and milk for you if you do! :D I love strawberry oreos, I just discovered them a few days back, and they ROCK! :D Hahahaha :D**

**EDIT: Yeah, I edited it slightly, 'cos when I re-read it, I realised how weird some phrases sounded. This goes to show how bad hot-off-the-press, unscanned through stuff are. *nods firmly* Never do it again! Hahahaha! I like the last part! :D Hee! Itachi is scaaa~ry!**


	4. Empty Promises

**A.N. As usual, all characters belong to the one and only, Kishimoto :D**  
Chapter Three: Empty Promises

* * *

_Naruto caught the raven up in a sudden embrace. "It's fine. Don't worry. It'll be okay, I promise."_

_Sasuke laughed mirthlessly. "You can't promise that."_

"_I just did," Naruto replied determinedly as he pulled away and walked back towards the main building, leaving Sasuke to stare at the debris. "Just watch me; I don't make empty promises," he said, as he turned to face Sasuke when he reached the end of the corridor, cerulean eyes shining with determination._

_Watching silently from his vantage point in an adjacent block of flats, Itachi smirked._

* * *

A month after that day, the Uchiha estate was already back in tiptop condition, nothing looking as if anything drastic had happened before. Naruto could finally move out of Sasuke's room in the west wing and return to his own room in the east wing, but Sasuke insisted Naruto stay in the west wing with him. Subtly. Well, as subtly as he could, anyway.

"Don't bother moving your things back."

"Why not?"

Sasuke grunted in reply, turning his head away from the blond.

"Hee, I always knew that you cared, bastard, but I never expected you to force me to stay in your room with you! Not that I'm complaining, of course," Naruto giggled.

Sasuke thwacked him on the head, and sighed. "Not the same room. Just… stay in the west wing. They have already prepared the room next to mine for you."

Rubbing his head where Sasuke's fist had come into contact with it, Naruto grinned. "It's still much closer to you! You know, when I was living in the other side, it's like almost equivalent to living in an apartment a few blocks away! This house is too darned huge..."

"Hn…" Sasuke replied, disregarding the grumbling blond. It had been exactly 30 days, 15 hours, 23 minutes and 47 seconds since Itachi's large and needlessly flamboyant announcement that he was back, and each second that passed made Sasuke worry more. Every day brought a fresh new wave of worry, worry that something, somewhere in the house, would blow up again, worry that someone would get killed, worry that Naruto would get killed; knowing that each day spent with Naruto safely by his side was a blessing, a warped form of a present from his 'loving' brother. Sasuke clenched his fists tightly. Putting Naruto in the room next to him made him feel a little more reassured, at the very least.

"Sasuke, you're not listening to me again!!"

"Mm."

"I just SAID, Sakura agreed to go out on a date with me! Like, FINALLY! And you're not even happy for me; what kind of a best friend are you anyway?" Naruto pouted.

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction when he finally heard what the blond had been trying to tell him for the past minute.

"You… what?"

"Don't need to act so surprised, teme! Sakura's finally realized who the better man really is!" Naruto smirked. "Where do you think I should take her? I was thinking of Ichiraku's, but she doesn't seem to like ramen very much. What do you think about that new posh restaurant that just opened near here? What's it called, Hirabeki, was it? What do you think I should wear? I think I should really dress up this time. I want to give her a good first impression! I only have one tie, and it's the orange one with ramen prints all over it, do you think it'll do? Or maybe I should go for that casual look, a little ruggard, a little stubble and unbuttoned shirt with no tie…"

Sasuke couldn't hear Naruto. And it wasn't because he was purposely tuning out the blond like he used to when he didn't want to get distracted, a skill he'd picked up over the years. No. All he could hear, ringing in his ears, was that Naruto was going out on a date with Sakura.

And strangely… he felt… sad.

This wasn't normal. He should be glad Sakura finally got over her mad fetish over him and left him alone. But the thing was, he wasn't feeling that way. He felt betrayed. And stranger yet, betrayed not by Sakura, but by Naruto. Weird.

Sasuke sighed angrily. He hated not knowing anything, and not knowing what was going on within himself was even more frustrating.

Noticing Sasuke's change in countenance, Naruto leaned over and peered closely at Sasuke's face. "Is there anything wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Sasuke replied, a tad too quickly. "It's just…"

"If you don't want me to go, Sasuke, you could just say, you know. You are more important to me than anything else in the world, even ramen!" Naruto said. "Even though I really want to go on a date with Sakura-chan, I wouldn't go if you didn't want me to, teme. Even though I love Sakura-chan, I don't want to lose you because of her." Straightening up and continuing with a more serious face, albeit more morosely, Naruto said, "If you really promise to look after her properly, I will leave her to you, but you have to treat her well, I'm telling you, or so help me I will nail you to the wall by your–"

"That's not it, idiot!" Sasuke interrupted.

"Then what's the matter?" Naruto asked, looking visibly relieved, yet more confused than ever.

"I just… it's nothing." Sasuke said angrily as he pushed Naruto out of the room. "And stay outside!" he added, trying to squish the thought of going over to comfort Naruto with a big hug after catching a small glimpse of the pouting blond sagging in disappointment through the crack between the door and the door frame a millisecond before the door slammed shut. He needed some alone time to calm down and analyze such unconventional things neatly and properly. Yes, maybe he would get an answer. That always made him feel better.

Leaning back against the door, Sasuke slid down to the floor slowly, hitting the floor with a muffled thump.

"_I don't want to lose you because of her."_

"_You're more important to me than anything else in the world, even ramen!"_

Sasuke groaned and started hitting his head on the door repeatedly.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

On the other side of the door, Naruto whined. "Whaaat?" He frowned. Sasuke's one-eighty mood swings were always confusing. But also knowing that they usually passed quickly, Naruto sat down outside the room determinedly, waiting for his best friend to reemerge.

_Thump. Thump. Thu – __Bzzzt!__Bzzzt!_

Sasuke paused briefly, lifting his head away from the door momentarily to glance down at the source of the vibration to his left. His phone was vibrating on the wooden parquet, a green phone that indicated an incoming call flashing on the display screen along with a name.

Hōzuki Suigetsu.

* * *

Sasuke burst out of his room, quite surprising the napping blond outside. "Eh? That was fast, Sasu-chan chan!"

Sasuke glanced down at Naruto and said, "Go to the bomb shelter. Now."

"Wha-a?" Naruto asked, in sleep-induced confusion.

Sasuke frowned at him in frustration. "Bomb shelter, NOW!"

"Heh? Why? Why do we – what the hell, lemme go, tebayo!" Naruto found himself whisked off his feet and hoisted onto Sasuke's bony shoulder.

"_His imports just came in."_

"What the hell, teme?! Put me down I tell you, put me –"

"Shut up, just shut the fuck up, Naruto!" Sasuke hissed. "We have no time now!"

Naruto shut up. He knew this tone only too well. Oh Christ no… not again, not this soon.

"Itachi… it's Itachi, isn't it?"

Sasuke didn't reply, but instead came to a sudden halt in front of the bomb shelter as he swung Naruto off his shoulder onto the ground, holding the shorter man by his shoulders.

"_What imports?"_

"Naruto… promise me one thing." Sasuke said tersely.

Naruto looked at Sasuke's tight expression, cerulean meeting obsidian in a deep stare. "Anything."

"Whatever you do, don't leave the shelter."

"_Large amounts of aqueous ammonium nitrate, sulphur, carbon and TNT above other miscellaneous ingredients."_

"I won't, if you would just promise me!"

"Promise what?"

"Promise that you won't do something rash, promise that you won't die, promise that you won't leave me, Sasuke! Don't… leave me." Naruto trailed off softly, his voice filled with desperation

"_God forbid… he's not compiling his own concoction is he?"_

"You ask for too much, baka," Sasuke replied, smiling softly, painfully.

"Just promise me, datebayo!"

"_He is. He's already assembled it and is preparing to launch."_

Sasuke paused for a second. "Alright… I promise."

"_What?!"_

Without warning, Sasuke suddenly lunged forward and pushed Naruto into the room, locking it from the outside.

"_He's already assembled it and is preparing to launch."_

"SASUKE! SASUKE, DAMNIT, _SASUKE_!"

_"...already assembled and prepared to launch."_

Sasuke walked away from the door, ignoring Naruto's yells.

_"...prepared to launch."_

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I'm sorry," he whispered.

"_He calls it..."_

Just then, a pack of weasels scampered into the hall in an unbroken river of dark brown fur towards Sasuke.

"Goodbye, Naruto. I'm sorry."

"_He calls it..."_

There was a blinding flash as the charges that had been implanted in the small mammals exploded.

"…_the Arsenal."_

The last thing Sasuke remembered was how beautiful the flash was, and the muffled, keening half-shriek, half-wail from inside the bomb shelter. And then, the world was white.

* * *

**A.N. Dum dum dum _duuuuuuuuuuum_! Yes, another chapter up! :D I know it's short, but at least it's something. Keep your eyes open for the next chappie that'll be coming your way soon (hopefully)! As usual, drop a review, be it flaming bricks or lovely sweet cookies! :D**


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Naruto, Hurt-Comfort, Romance